Kater received his B.A. in physics from
Reed College in 2002. After that, he spent a long year
slacking off, working as a bee keeper, honing his guitar
skills, and studying the cello before finally starting his
Ph.D. work at UC Berkeley with Prof. Dan Stamper-Kurn. After
some time studying Bose-Einstein condensation in multiply
connected geometries, Kater focused his interests on general
problems in quantum measurement, and performed some of the
first studies of position measurement quantum
backaction. After receiving his Ph.D. in 2008, Kater continued
work in the Stamper-Kurn group studying a possible super-solid
phase of matter which occurs in spinor-Bose-Einsten
condensates, and constructing a state of the art BEC
apparatus. After a short postdoc in the Stamper-Kurn Group,
Kater joined Irfan Siddiqi's group to study superconducting
quantum circuits, where he continued to study basic questions
in quantum measurement and quantum noise. In 2013, Kater
joined the faculty at Washington University. In 2015 Kater received the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship in Physics.

Current members

Graduate students

Mahdi Naghiloo

I got my B.Sc in solid state physics from the University of Zanjan (ZNU) near my hometown Hidaj. For my master degree, I studied quantum optics at Sharif University of Technology (SUT), Tehran, Iran. I moved to the US in 2013 to start my Ph.D. study in Murch Lab, Washington University. Here I got my hands dirty with several experiments on quantum physics with superconducting circuits, exploring fundamental *problems* in the quantum world. I mostly focus on measurement dynamics, quantum thermodynamics, and aspects of metrology with quantum circuits. Our main tool for these studies is a technique called "weak measurement" by which we can continuously monitor the evolution of a single qubit without collapsing the quantum wavefunction.

Office: Crow 106 Phone:(314) 935-4723

Patrick Harrington

After completing my B.Sc. in Physics at Gordon College (north of Boston) and a researching laser spectroscopy with Thermo Fisher Scientific for a year, I joined the Murch group here at Washington University as a graduate student. Throughout my PhD, I have focused on open quantum systems with experiments on superconducting circuits. I look to explore the physics of open quantum systems with bath engineering methods, where dynamics ensue from drive and dissipation consequent of specifically tailored interactions between a quantum circuit and its electromagnetic environment. Apart from these research interests, I enjoy long treks, making music, and bantering.

Howdy! I graduated from Texas A&M University where I did a little bit of everything that I could. I graduated with a B.Sc. in physics, a B.A. math, and minors in computer science and astrophysics. My main research at the time was investigating how galactic environments changed the way galaxies grow. Now in the Murch Lab I'm doing something a bit different by studying how concepts from thermodynamics extend to the quantum regime. I ultimately aim to develop better quantum computing protocols through a thorough understanding of quantum measurement. When I'm not in the lab I love playing ultimate frisbee, facing the outdoors, and talking philosophy.

Office: Crow 106 Phone:(314) 935-4723

Taeho Lee

I am from Seoul, South Korea. I finished my undergraduate in Nanoscience from Chiba University in Chiba, Japan. For my master's degree, I studied nano-photonics in the field of Applied Physics by developing Raman microscopy at Osaka University in Osaka, Japan. I moved to St. Louis to start my Ph.D. in August 2017 and joined the Murch group at Washington University in St. Louis. Here, I am investigating entropic uncertainty relations in quantum measurement. I also focus on e-beam fabrication of superconducting quantum circuits to further explore the quantum world. In my free time, I like to study French and Mandarin and watch major league baseball.

Office: Crow 106 Phone: (314) 935-4723

Maryam Abbasi

I did my undergrad and master in physics at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. My master's degree was focused on Ads/CFT correspondence, more specifically on holographic entanglement entropy. I joined Murch lab in the summer of 2018. Currently, I am working on non-hermitian systems and also exploring potential setups for designing a "giant atom" in a circuit QED setup.

Office: Crow 106 Phone: (314) 935-4723

Wolfgang Zober

I graduated from Wheeling Jesuit University (in northern WV) with a B.Sc. in Physics and Mathematics and a minor in theology. As an undergraduate, I was involved in a range of projects. For physics, my main project was an internship at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center where I worked in the laser and electronic optics group designing a laser for sodium LIDAR. In mathematics, I did statistical analysis of euchre, a regional card game. In the Murch lab I am currently working with nitrogen vacancies in diamond as a room temperature quantum system. In my spare time I participate in intramural sports, do nature photography, and play music.

Office: Crow 106 Phone: (314) 935-4723

Xingrui Song

I am from Zhejiang province, China. I graduated from the School of the Gifted Young (SCGY) of University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) with a B.Sc. degree in Atomic & Molecular Physics. During my undergraduate years, I studied PT-symmetric Hamiltonians in CAS Key Laboratory of Microscale Magnetic Resonance. I spent my summer of 2017 at Texas A&M University numerically investigating partial differential equations derived from a newly proposed gravity theory. Quantum mechanics is amazing. I am interested in almost every aspect of quantum mechanics, from quantum information to quantum gravity, because I believe they are mutually connected. In the Murch lab, I am currently working on a project in quantum thermodynamics. I am also interested in the promising technologies of quantum computation as well as artificial intelligence.

Office: Crow 106 Phone: (314) 935-4723

Yunzhao Wang

Office: Crow 106 Phone: (314) 935-4723

Undergraduate students

Tommy Alamin

Clayton Knittel

Former members

Post-docs

Neda Forouzani

Neda was a postdoc in the group from 2014-2016 at LPS Maryland.

Dian Tan

Dian graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, P. R. China in 2012. Later that year, Dian came to Washington University for graduate studies in physics and researched weak values and continuous quantum measurement with post-selection. Dian graduated with his PhD in 2017 and continued as a post-doc with the Murch lab into 2018.